This hypothesis has been proven so often during Ovechkin's nine-year career with the Capitals that it is now accepted with ironclad certainty as a formula. A rule. A law.

No season did more to prove the causation postulated by this theory than 2012-13.

Last season, Ovechkin started ice-cold. He scored only two goals in his first 10 games and had only nine goals by the 24th game of the season, the halfway point of the lockout-shortened campaign.

Not surprisingly, Washington struggled as a team. The Capitals were 10-13-1 after Game 24, earning 21 points and a 12th-place position in the Eastern Conference standings.

But then Ovechkin began to heat up. He scored 23 goals in the second half of the season, finishing with 32 to win his record-setting third Rocket Richard Trophy.

Ovechkin also won his third Hart Trophy, because the Capitals caught fire as well. Washington went 17-5-2 down the home stretch, earning 36 points to win the final Southeast Division title in the process.

But this season, the causal link between Ovechkin and his team has been weakened. Despite Ovechkin having another outstanding season in 2013-14, the Capitals have not consistently capitalized on their captain's prodigious goal scoring.

The following table bears this out, showing the Caps' record from last season and this season when Ovechkin does not score a goal versus when he scores one or multiple goals:

2012-13 vs. 2013-14: Effect of Ovechkin's Scoring on Caps' Record

CAPITALS' RECORD

2012-13

WIN %

2013-14

WIN %

Ovechkin Scores 0 Goals

2-14-2

.111

6-14-4 *

.250

Ovechkin Scores 1 Goal

19-4-1

.792

18-7-4

.621

Ovechkin Scores 2+ Goals

6-0-0

1.000

6-1-0

.857

NHL.com

The new trend of Washington struggling while Ovechkin excels is revealed in greater detail by viewing the next table, which shows major offensive categories for both Ovechkin and the Capitals from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons:

2012-13 vs. 2013-14: Comparing Caps'/Ovechkin's Offensive Stats

CATEGORY

2012-13

RANK

2013-14

RANK

OVECHKIN: Games Played

48

-----

49

-----

CAPITALS: Games Played

48

-----

53

-----

OVECHKIN: Goals

32

1st

38

1st

CAPITALS: Goals

146

4th

145

16th

CAPITALS: Goals For per Game

3.04

4th

2.74

14th

OVECHKIN: Even-Strength Goals

16

9th

24

1st

CAPITALS: 5-on-5 Goals

93

9th

91

22nd

CAPITALS: 5-on-5 Goals For/Against

1.07

10th

0.92

20th

OVECHKIN: Power-Play Goals

16

1st

14

1st

CAPITALS: Power-Plays Goals

44

1st

43

1st

CAPITALS: Power-Play Percentage

26.8

1st

22.9

3rd

NHL.com

So what is the cause of this disparity in offensive production by the Capitals, even though Ovechkin's production has not declined this season?

Lack of balanced scoring.

A whopping 25 goals separate Ovechkin from Joel Ward, the second-leading goal scorer on the Capitals. And by looking at the next three leading goal scorers from last season after Ovechkin (excluding Mike Ribeiro, who left the team in the offseason) and how they have performed this season in an almost identical number of games, one will see that the Capitals' secondary scoring has been a major issue:

2012-13 vs. 2013-14: Capitals' Next 3 Leading Goal Scorers

PLAYER

12-13 GP

12-13 G

12-13 PPG

13-14 GP

13-14 G

13-14 PPG

Troy Brouwer

47

19

7

53

10

6

Mike Green

35

12

4

50

7

2

Eric Fehr

41

9

2

44

8

0

NHL.com

This lack of balanced scoring has hurt the Capitals where it matters most. Washington is now 24-21-8 for 56 points, and stand in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings. If the playoffs were to begin today, the Capitals would be reaching for their golf clubs instead of their hockey sticks.

Thankfully, the Capitals may have turned a corner in their last two games. The Caps put on a more balanced display of scoring, which helped them earn four of a possible four points in the standings.

Who is the most important secondary goal scorer for the Capitals?

Who is the most important secondary goal scorer for the Capitals?

Nicklas Backstrom

39.7%

Troy Brouwer

18.8%

Mikhail Grabovski

21.9%

Mike Green

12.9%

Marcus Johansson

4.0%

Other (Add in Comments)

2.7%

Total votes: 224

On Jan. 28, the Capitals got two goals (and three points) from Mike Green and a power-play goal from Troy Brouwer to back up Ovechkin's two-goal, four-point performance as they finally beat the Buffalo Sabres this season, winning 5-4 in overtime.

Jan. 25 was one of those games. Of the five goal scorers in the 5-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens, three of them (John Erskine, Jay Beagle, Casey Wellman) scored their first goal of the season.

This trend of tertiary scoring caused by a player notching his first goal of the season may continue for the Capitals. The much-maligned Martin Erat has yet to tally this season, despite playing in 45 games and racking up 20 assists.

But the trend of secondary scoring by the likes of Green and Brouwermust continue for the Capitals.

That is, if the Capitals would rather be playing hockey this spring, instead of golf.